Docking of dogs' tails - Animal Welfare Bill amended

The Animal Welfare Bill has been amended to meet concerns raised by the RCVS.

Last March the RCVS Council called for an outright ban on the docking of dogs' tails, other than for therapeutic purposes, with a review after five years to see whether this led to an increase in tail injuries in working dogs.

The House of Commons, however, voted to prohibit tail docking except for working dogs, and this was accepted when the Bill went to the House of Lords. Different organisations expressed different views on the issues, but ultimately it was for Parliament to decide.

We saw a difficulty with the wording of the exception for working dogs. The Bill, as amended in the House of Commons, obliged any veterinary surgeon who agreed to dock a puppy's tail to certify that it was likely to be used as a working dog. This conflicted with the principles of veterinary certification, because the veterinary surgeon would have been predicting future events on the basis of information provided by the owner of the dog.

We discussed this issue with DEFRA, and when the Bill reached the House of Lords Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior HonFRCVS tabled an amendment. Lord Soulsby withdrew his amendment on receiving an assurance that the Government would make the necessary correction, and this was done at a later stage.

The veterinary surgeon will now only have to certify that certain evidence has been produced by the owner to indicate that the dog is likely to be used for work, and DEFRA will make regulations specifying what that evidence must be.

The Animal Welfare Bill relates to England and Wales. In Scotland the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, which has already become law, will prohibit any mutilation of an animal unless the procedure in question is permitted in regulations made by the Scottish Ministers.

The Act also makes it an offence to take an animal out of Scotland in order to have a procedure carried out that would be prohibited in Scotland.

Scottish Ministers have made clear that they do not intend to make regulations permitting the docking of dogs' tails, but they have said that they will be prepared to reconsider this in the light of practical experience of the working of the new law.

We will issue new guidance to the profession taking account of the changes in the legislation.